There's a lot of incredible ingenuity in the British watchmaking scene right now. While top name players like Christopher Ward lead the charge, there are a sea of smaller, independent brands putting out seriously impressive watches at great prices.
One example I stumbled upon late last year was the Abinger Nimrod. That's a well-spec'd watch with a go anywhere, do anything personality, for less than you'd think.
Now, the brand has unveiled the Phantom, which builds on that base with a stealthy new look. Let's jump in and take a closer look.
Abinger Phantom: key specs
Let's kick off with some specs. The model utilises a 38mm case diameter, and sits a mere 10.8mm tall. That houses a Miyota 9039 movement – a well-respected third-party movement which offers 42 hours of power reserve, and accuracy of -10/+15 seconds per day.
The piece is also water resistant to 200m, which is seriously impressive. That's dive watch levels of resistance, and feels unbelievable on a watch with these dimensions and at this price.
There is a bezel on the watch, though it's not a dive bezel. Instead, the watch uses a second hour scale, which allows the piece to act like a GMT watch.
You'll also find an FKM rubber strap on this model. That features a patterned top, designed to look like fabric, but it is, in fact all rubber. Also note that the pre-production model I've reviewed comes with a silver buckle, but that will be a matching black on the finished article.
What is the Abinger Phantom like on the wrist?
As you'd probably expect from the spec sheet, this model wears like a dream. The slim case height paired with the smaller diameter makes for an overall prospect which is just dreamy to wear.
I'm also a big fan of the rubber strap here. It suits the vibe of the watch – or, at the very least, how it has felt during my summer testing – with a lightweight nature. One gripe I have is that the fabric pattern and the wave pattern on the rear of the strap are both magnets for dirt and grime.
Still, that won't be enough to put me off. The 20mm lug width should make this a top pick for those who enjoy changing their watch strap, and I can see it looking great on a wide range of other options.
I'm also a big fan of the full lume dial. I'm rarely one to get dewy-eyed about lume performance – for most of us, it's not really a necessity in modern life.
Still, it's hard to ignore a full dial crafted from it, and it does look great here. In fact, I'd wager it's only really bested by another small British design in the Ontic Utility 40 Granite.
Is the Abinger Phantom worth the money?
Once the watch comes available for pre-orders on the 1st of August, you'll be able to snag it at an exclusive pre-order price of £699 (approx. €820 / US$950 / AU$1,350). Thereafter, the model will retail a little higher at £725 (approx. €850 / US$970 / AU$1,395).
It's worth noting that that's about £200 more costly than the original pre-order price of the Nimrod, though that does retail at £650, which closes the gap somewhat. Either way, it places this model in an interesting spot.
It's easy to compare watches around the £1,000 mark and watches around the £500 mark, but the space between it is hard to do well. I think this model is a good example of doing it right – enviable specs and a solid design with a decent story, and all at a price which undercuts some of the bigger boys in the space.
I felt similar feelings about the Clemence Munro, and I think that's pretty high praise indeed. I'm excited for the future of Abinger.
